It’s 2025’s biggest fitness trend, so much so that when ALDI released a home gym version, there were reports of riots in aisles, but what exactly is Reformer Pilates, and why should we all be doing it?
After a 15 year career as one of Ireland’s best-known models, Aoife Cogan discovered Reformer Pilates on the advice of her husband, retired rugby star Gordon D’Arcy, after years of wearing cripplingly high (and occasiuonally too small) heels while on modelling jobs left her with agonising lower back pain.
It was an enlightening and ‘addictive’ experience, and the couple now runs their own Reformer Pilates studio in Dublin, called Form School. So what do newbies need to know?
Aoife Cogan. Pic: supplied
Firstly, what is Pilates?
‘It’s a form of resistance-based exercise that uses an apparatus called a Reformer, which is like a sliding platform with springs for adjustable resistance, so each spring will have an adjustable weight, and you attach it accordingly,’ Aoife explains.
She continues: ‘That’s where a teacher can balance the bodies in front of them, because somebody might want for arm work heavier springs and some people who maybe are feeling a little bit weaker need to build up their strength, they take off a few of the springs, and so you can create your own resistance. Whereas I suppose with mat Pilates, you’re using your body to create resistance.
‘Then it’s low impact but highly effective for building strength, improving flexibility and kind of enhancing your own body awareness in a way.’
It’s for all ages… and with good reason
Well, according to Aoife, one of the most important things to be aware of is that Reformer Pilates isn’t a get-fit-quick fitness fad but rather a lifestyle change that we can keep up well into our golden years.
‘It’s attracting people who are focused on longevity and posture, and not just appearance, because clients used to be asking “will this change my body in ten weeks?” And now it’s, “can I do this for the next ten years?”
‘People are living longer – I was looking at our daughter, Meadow, and anyone born in 2020 – the life expectancy for them is looking towards 105! So people are living longer, and if we’re going to be around longer, we want to have that mobility.
‘Reformer, you can do the whole way up and I find it amazing that you have a form of exercise where you have someone in the class who is in their 70s, somebody in their 50s, and somebody in their 20s and they’re all working together and let me be very clear on this, you are definitely not the best in the class because you’re in your 20s!’
Don’t expect to run before you can walk
Form School. Pic: Supplied
‘We have clients who say, “I do a lot of running and I’m really fit, so can I just go straight to level two?”
‘I would say this isn’t a good idea because you really have to do the Reformer, that’s why I say you have to start at level one, get yourself familiarised with the Reformer and then you progress up the levels.
You will feel it the next day
Pic: Getty Images
Regardless of your fitness level, you will likely be feeling a bit sore after your first class.
‘You’re working muscles that you might not have even known you had! You are doing exercises that are tapping into areas of your body that you mightn’t be used to using in your day-to-day, so I would always advise not to do back-to-back classes.
‘Always give yourself a day to wind down, but yeah, you’ll feel it 100 per cent, but in a positive way!’
Don’t be intimidated
Aldi’s reformer machine. Pic: Aldi
‘Try not to be put off when you see the Reformer, if you’re thinking, “Oh My God, the ropes, the springs,” it can all be a little bit overwhelming, but once you sit in the Reformer, you’re in a class of 10, 20 people that instructor is monitoring you so closely.
‘Also, something I would think is important for beginners looking at Reformers online is that you could be looking at instructors doing the most difficult moves that look absolutely beautiful and so serene, but you’re looking at that going “Oh sweet Mother of God, I will never be able to do that”… but you’re looking at a highly skilled professional… so you have to remember that they are where they are at because they’ve been doing iot for years.’
Are online classes a good idea?
Speaking of online Reformer Pilates classes, if we did manage to snap up one of the viral Aldi machines or have another one at home, what do we need to consider?
Aoife hasn’t seen the ALDI version of the Reformer machine, but advises newcomers to be careful with the machines they buy. That said, she does think that there is a space for online reform classes.
‘If you’re lucky enough to have a Reformer at home, there are ways to tune into a teacher at home on Zoom, but I think nothing beats that in-house experience of having a teacher beside you, looking at your line and fixing you. It’s difficult to compare the two, but maybe as a combination, if you are familiar with the moves, and then maybe kind of do the class at home, but maybe not as your first class.’
Learning Reformer Pilates with an instructor is important for getting to grips with the technique.
‘It’s so honed… and I think that’s what people aren’t expecting. Literally, put all your weight into your heel, and you’ll feel the exercise completely differently as opposed to putting the weight into your toe, and that’s why you need the class environment because they are watching you so closely that they are literally tweaking your toes at certain points.
‘Athletes do it. People recovering from injury do it – we get a lot of referrals from physios… and then it equally appeals to total beginners, I think, because it tones, without stressing your joints, and you just leave your class feeling taller, lighter, and more aligned.’